Page 58 of The Deception You Weave
"Wait," I call before he opens the door.
"Why'd you bring her here?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't want her to be anywhere else."
A sad smile twitches at the corner of my mouth.
"Thanks, man."
He nods in acceptance and then slips through the door. I hear his footsteps down the stairs before the front door closes behind him.
I watch her for a few minutes, desperate to crawl into the bed beside her and pull her into my arms, but I know I need to clean her up first, check her head properly in case she needs stitches.
I make quick work of running down to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit I've seen hiding under the sink and a bowl of warm water.
The second I'm back in my room, I drop to my knees once more and dip a cotton ball into the water and begin to clean up her face.
She moans when the warmth hits her skin.
"It's okay, Princess. You're safe." I almost laugh at my words. She might have been through fuck knows what tonight, but it started with me dragging her into the woods and brutally fucking her against a tree. I should be the last person she feels safe with. Yet she's here, and I'll do anything I can right now to make any of this better.
Once I've cleaned off the blood, the cut that's in her hairline at her temple doesn't look so bad. I place a couple of sutures across it just in case before discarding everything I've used and finally crawling in beside her.
I lay on my side and just watch her as she peacefully sleeps. My need to wake her to find out exactly what she's been through tonight is strong, but I know I need to let her rest.
Needing to be close to her, I press the length of my body against hers. I tell myself that it's for her, to keep her warm, but I know it's bullshit the second sparks shoot out from our contact.
She must feel it too because her entire body tenses before her eyes flutter open.
Her loud gasp fills the silent room before she tries to sit up in a panic.
"Where the hell—"
"It's okay, Princess. You're safe," I repeat my words from earlier. But when she turns her wide, terrified eyes on me, she looks anything but reassured.
"I need to leave." Her arm shoots out to fling the sheets off her, but I wrap my hand around her upper arm and she immediately stills.
"Letty, you've been through a lot tonight. Just lay back and rest a minute, yeah?"
She blinks, blows out a long breath and nods.
Slowly, she lays back down, clearly not having the fight in her to really want to get away from me.
She stares up at the ceiling with her walls built so high, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to scale them.
"Look at me, Princess."
She refuses, her jaw tensing and her tiny hands balling into fists around the top of the sheets.
"Letty, please."
My breath catches when she does as she's told—possibly for the first time ever—and I find her eyes full of unshed tears.
"Everything's okay. You're safe now."
"M-my dad?"
"He'll be okay," I soothe, reaching out and cupping her jaw, brushing my thumb over her cheek, catching the lone tear that escapes at my words.
